Rejoice! “Damages” Returns Tonight

In its electrifying debut season, the FX legal thriller “Damages” was one of those rare shows capable of wreaking bodily harm upon the viewer. Week after suspenseful week, it would seize us in its clutches, bore deep into our skulls, send shivers rattling down our spines and turn us into quivering wrecks.

Naturally, we had a ravenous hunger for more.

But now that Glenn Close and company are finally returning for Season 2 tonight, we can’t help but anxiously wonder: Will they ever be able to top themselves? And, if they do, will our hearts be able to hold out?

They are joined by an impressive batch of newcomers headlined by Oscar winner William Hurt, who teams with Close for the first time since their work in 1983’s “The Big Chill.” Also along for the dark thrill ride are Timothy Olyphant (the sheriff in “Deadwood”) and Marcia Gay Harden.

As Season 2 unfolds, we find Patty pondering her next move after winning a brutal, no-holds-barred legal tussle with Frobisher that has left him a shell of his former self. She should be on the top of the world, but it was a victory bathed in blood and, consequently, it is haunting her dreams.

Patty’s biggest nightmare, however, just might be Ellen, who is convinced that her vicious boss tried to have her killed. Instead of bolting the firm in a huff, Ellen quietly schemes to take Patty down from the inside by acting as an FBI informant.

This season’s key case revolves around Daniel Purcell (Hurt), a brilliant, whistle-blowing research scientist who has some kind of link to Patty’s mysterious past. He creeps back into her life when his wife is found beaten to death. But what appears to be a domestic murder case quickly escalates into something much bigger and treacherous. So let the mind games begin.

In the first two episodes made available for preview, it’s apparent that “Damages” will again rely on a storytelling structure that plays with time as we jump back and forth between events separated by six months. It’s a device that can boost intrigue, but can also occasionally feel like a crutch and/or a cheat. (In a recurring sequence, we see Ellen threatening “someone” with a gun, but that someone isn’t revealed).

Fortunately, in these early episodes “Damages” does contain the kind of densely layered plots, nail-biting tension and mind-blowing twists we’ve come to expect. And the acting continues to be top-notch.

Close again chomps into her role with malicious gusto. But she’s also revealing glimpses of a compelling kind of vulnerability, and it’s a pleasure to watch her share the screen with the old pro, Hurt.

But the character most worth watching is Byrne’s Ellen. She has gone from the naive lamb of early last season to a fierce lion. Byrne handles the startling transformation with aplomb.

As for Olyphant and Gay Harden, they have mainly a marginal presence early on, but both figure to be vital to the mix â€” playing enigmatic characters who, in the tradition of “Damages,” may not be exactly who they appear to be.